TV Review: The Flash - Season 2 Episode 13 "Welcome To Earth-2"

SYNOPSIS: Barry, Wells and Cisco journey to Earth-2 to rescue Wells' daughter, Jesse, from Zoom. Barry is stunned when he runs into Earth-2 Iris and Joe, but nothing prepares him for meeting Killer Frost and Deathstorm. Meanwhile, back on Earth-1, Jay has to take over the Flash's responsibilities when a meta-human nicknamed Geomancer attacks Central City.

REVIEW: Alternate universe stories are always fun. When I think back to the best episodes of Star Trek and Fringe, many used the idea of parallel worlds and doppelgangers to deepen our understanding of what made our heroes so good and the villains so evil. So far on The Flash, our understanding of Earth-2 has been limited to brief glimpses of characters without too much overlap involving our main characters. All of that changed tonight with three of our main cast jumping through the last remaining breach in an effort to save Harrison Wells' daughter and stop Zoom once and for all. It also afforded an opportunity to finally get Jay Garrick back to being the Fastest Man Alive.

Much last last season when Barry used the speed force to try and stop Reverse-Flash, we see images from various parallel worlds as Barry, Cisco, and Wells travel to Earth-2. Glimpses of Jonah Hex, the 1990 version of The Flash, and even Supergirl are seen and tie together not only Flash and Legends of Tomorrow but also tease the recently announced crossover with CBS' series. Once arriving, Barry kidnaps his doppelganger and takes his place to try and learn more about Zoom's wheareabouts. He quickly learns that he is married to Iris who is also a cop much like Joe on Earth-1. Floyd Lawton, better known as Deadshot, is Iris' partner and his aim is quite a bit off from where it was on Earth-1. We also learn that Joe hates Barry and the feeling is mutual as Joe blames him for Iris becoming a cop. Jitters is no longer a coffee shop but instead is a nightclub where Joe is the headliner.

But lets not get caught up in these details. The big reveal from Earth-2 is that Caitlyn is a villain known as Killer Frost. Her husband is still alive, but Ronnie is also a bad guy known as Deathstorm. Together, the villains are working for Zoom and are tasked with finding Barry and Cisco and bringing them to the black-suited speedster. Wells is undoubtedly disappointed that Barry has allowed their mission to be compromised, but when Joe is fatally wounded by Deathstorm, Barry feels compelled to try and save his family. He even gets a chance to speak to his mother who is alive on Earth-2 and his emotional reaction compels him to bring Cisco in to try and stop Killer Frost and Deathstorm. While Cisco is unable to vibe on this world, we soon learn that there is a very good reason.

Meanwhile, on Earth-1, a new metahuman has appeared. Jay Garrick immediately recognizes him as a foe from Earth-2 who died. Known as the Geomancer, this bad guy calls out The Flash. The breach in STAR Labs is broken and with Jay and Caitlyn researching how to fix it, Joe implores Jay to take Velocity-6 to defend the city in Barry's absence. Joe then confides in Caitlyn that Zoom did not steal his speed and cause his illness, it was his own experiments with a Velocity-6 serum. Caitlyn vows to help Jay and develops Velocity-7 which temporarily allows Jay to fight Geomancer but soon loses his speed again. Joe manages to shoot Geomancer but he gets away. At least now, Jay knows they may be able to restore his speed. Personally, I still think that Jay will end up being Zoom, but I could be wrong.

Iris, Floyd, and Cisco team up to try and take down Killer Frost and Deathstorm but they soon reveal that they are not reporting to Zoom directly. Their actual boss steps out of the shadows and we see that it is Reverb, better known as Earth-2's Cisco Ramon. This Cisco has fully manifested his powers and offers to train Earth-1 Cisco, who rejects his doppelganger's "Cloud City Vader" deal. Barry arrives to defend his friends but is taken down by Reverb and Deathstorm who are quickly killed by Zoom for hurting Barry. Zoom then takes Barry to the same basement prison where Jesse is held as well as a masked man. Zoom then tells Barry that this is the last room he will see before he dies.

A very intense episode, this may be one of the best hours of The Flash to date. The parallel world building was done in a way that allowed some humor to come through but also developed this unique universe in a way that could have lasting growth for the Arrowverse. The little hints of where Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow, and now Supergirl could go are quite amazing. I would also love to know if we may ever see a glimpse of DC's big screen universe or even Gotham. If DC tied together all of their related and unrelated properties into a big and small screen multiverse, they could absolutely contend with Marvel's Cinematic Universe by offering something quite different. As it stands, I am pleased to see where the rest of this two part episode will go.

FINAL VERDICT:

NEXT ON THE FLASH: "Escape From Earth-2" airs February 16th - On Earth-2, the team races to find Zoom's lair and asks for help from the most unexpected source. Meanwhile, back on Earth-1,Caitlin rushes to perfect Velocity-9 so that Jay can stop the Geomancer.